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Reliable, e cient and e ective
combat communications
systems are integral compo-
nents of a modern military.
Troops and commanders
engaged in diverse theaters of operation
require robust, rapidly available and nimble
communications technologies to share,
process and distribute vital real-time situ-
ational data.
Despite ongoing budgetary pressures,
the Defense Department is taking advan-
tage of emerging communications tech-
nologies to improve situational awareness
on the tactical edge with a combination
of commercial o -the-shelf (COTS) and
custom-engineered systems and services.
RADIOS AND NETWORKS
Networks are playing an increasingly im-
portant role in getting vital information
to those who can bene t most from it, re-
gardless of their location. "We have a very
good architecture with a wide area network
(WAN) down to the dismounted soldier,"
said Jennifer Zbozny, chief engineer, tech-
nical management division, Army Pro-
gram Executive O ce, Command Control
Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T) at
Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. "Within
this architecture, we want to provide en-
hancements to deliver more throughput
and, therefore, do things more dynamically
today than we could in the past."
Increased network exibility is now
recognized as an essential attribute when
striving to ensure high-quality data service
to commanders and front-line troops. "For
example, if you had two routes connecting
radios to War ghter Information Network-
Tactical (WIN-T), we would like to be able
to select the link at that moment that is best
suited to pass data," Zbozny said. "Today,
we have a static route, which means it stays
xed on WIN-T and will always take this
route unless the connection goes down."
DOD is looking for components and
technologies that can provide dominant
edge networking at the company and pla-
toon levels, said Bill Clingempeel, strat-
egy and tactical networks area director at
Northrop Grumman Information Systems'
Tactical Mission Command/Mission Com-
mand Systems unit in Herndon, Va. New
network capabilities promise to lead to
more sophisticated communications tools.
"Technologies potentially include tunable
modems over much wider bands, variable
bandwidth selection, and rapid de-con ic-
tion of frequency contention in cases where
intense competition for spectrum exists,"
he said. Other advancements include net-
centric management and ease-of-use im-
provements to support rapid initialization
of the network, Clingempeel noted.
Zbozny said that signi cant progress
is being made in improving information
delivery to the tactical edge. "I don't think
we have gaps anymore from a 'who gets
what' perspective," she said. "Two years ago,
I would have said company and platoon
[units] were not getting access to informa-
tion, but that is not true anymore."
Ken Arndt, product line management
manager at Harris RF Communications in
Rochester, N.Y., stated that DOD is also ac-
tively pursuing networked radios -- carried
by vehicles, by hand and in rucksacks -- that
provide secure, so ware-de ned tactical
networking capabilities for all its individual
components. " ese radios will enable the
transmission of both voice and data, lead-
ing to enhanced command and control and
more detailed situational awareness," he said.
According to Zbozny, the new mobile
network backbone, WIN-T Increment 2, is
now being installed in select company vehi-
cles, enabling users in austere environments
to send and receive information without
being tied to xed locations. "For the pla-
toon level and below, the new generation of
data radios and handheld devices are giving
dismounted soldiers the situational aware-
ness that before they only could get in a
vehicle," she said. "As we move forward, the
Army will look to add more applications to
the handhelds that deliver more informa-
tion and capabilities."
COTS RULES
With COTS technologies now proving
their ability to provide performance, us-
ability, exibility and value in front-line ap-
plications, custom-built solutions are rap-
idly falling out of favor at DOD and among
the various military services. "Among our
customers, we are seeing a shi toward o -
the-shelf solutions that they [can] deploy in
a secure manner," said Jason Parry, collabo-
ration practice director at Force 3, a com-
munications systems developer in Cro on,
Md. "Many of those communications tools
custom-built for combat are highly secure,
but come with limited functionality and a
costly price tag," Parry said.
Even major contractors that have tra-
ditionally supplied the military with cus-
tom-built systems are now beginning to
appreciate the need to incorporate COTS
technologies into their o erings. Cling-
empeel noted that the SoldierLink System
A U.S. Soldier with the 1st
Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment,
and his Afghan interpreter, listen
to Taliban communications on
a radio during a patrol near the
town of Qalat, in Zabul province,
Afghanistan.
DefenseSystems.com | APRIL/MAY 2013 17